The present invention relates to articles for absorbing body fluids. More particularly, the invention pertains to an absorbent article including one or more containment beams that absorb liquid and impede liquid flow.
Disposable absorbent articles such as incontinence undergarments, diapers, feminine products, or the like have commonly included a liquid permeable bodyside liner, a liquid impermeable moisture barrier, and a generally flat absorbent material disposed between the bodyside liner and the moisture barrier. A substantial portion of the absorbent material is routinely positioned in the crotch region of the article where it is likely to directly receive insults of liquid. Because the absorbent material tends to swell upon taking in the first insult of liquid, however, the amount of void space in the crotch region available to receive subsequent insults is substantially reduced.
It has also been common for disposable absorbent articles to include elastic components, such as leg elastics, waist elastics, and/or elastic fastening devices. The function of these elastic components has been to improve the fit of the absorbent article about the wearer, and thereby enhance the containment of waste materials. Typically, however, the absorbent material is fully bonded or otherwise held immobile between the bodyside liner and the moisture barrier. Consequently, the impact of elastic components has been limited to sealing the periphery of the absorbent article against the body of the wearer, rather than controlling the shape of the article when it is worn.
Therefore, what is lacking and needed in the art is an absorbent article that maintains void space for multiple insults of liquid and that has an absorbent structure which promotes a product shape that enhances liquid containment.